definition

Friday, May 18, 2012

Us and Them….is there really a difference?

I’ve been pondering the arts in general of late, and how that
peculiar particular brand of madness, that is being a creative person,
interacts with the structures that other human beings have built to organise
groups of people.

It seems to me that our default position,as artists, is to
be ‘outsiders’. We are most comfortable with the feeling of being at a certain
distance from the ‘normal world’, a distance that grants us a degree of freedom
from responsibility…..a freedom that we pay for with exclusion from the
trappings of normality (wealth, comfort etc).

We use this freedom to create our own versions of reality
through our art….yet, and here is where the madness begins.... we also feel compelled
to share our work with others. This in the hope that something we have made will
evoke a response in our fellow human beings…..why do we do that?? What are we
hoping for from that?? Often times our work comes from deeply held
convictions or feelings about the world – we share these at great risk to our
sense of self. Again, why do we do this?? I guess that, deep down, part of us
wants to believe that others can feel the same things that we do?

The bottom
line, I believe, is that the deep trait that all creative people share is that
we are idealists – we are constantly peering into the distance looking for
clues and hints of the ‘truth’ or the ‘future’ or the ‘real’ or the
‘beautiful’.

This ability to gaze fearlessly at something from a position
of having nothing to lose (ie no ‘status’ in society) gives us two awesome
abilities – to be Boundless Pioneers or
Pitiless Critics – (I believe we
have honed both these faculties upon ourselves in our own work).

When we are in the ‘normal world’ it is very difficult to be
a Pioneer (‘shite....am I selling out
my idealism even talking to these people’) and very easy to be a Critic (‘if I say this is crap then I
can cling to the hope that folk will believe I have a better idea hidden away’)

It has been sad to watch some of the ways that we as a
creative community are dealing with the fledging attempts to build a regional
approach to the arts in D+G.

Maybe we need to remember the things that bind us all
together as creative people (I call it idealism – others will have other
definitions) – In our BoundlessPioneering side we have a massive
amount to offer the world at this time of turmoil and uncertainty. Personally,
I believe we are stronger when we work together – others will feel that they
function better alone. I would ask those who are using their abilities as Pitiless Critics on the Regional Hubs
and the Chamber of the Arts to look deeply into their hearts and be honest with
themselves about their motivations…..if you believe in the possibility of many
voices within a common approach then bring your inner Pioneer to the fore and
help to shape the creative future for the next generation in D+G…….if you know
you are better ploughing your own personal furrow – then don’t waste your time
trying to hinder others….just get on with being a pioneer in your own chosen universe.

2 comments:

Let us not forget that all this New Structure is exactly that....new....we were all part of the process that brought it into being and have a collective responsibility to help it become the best it can possibly be. Lets also remember that the thing it replaces (DGarts) was 100% UNaccountable.This thing will change and grow - in 5 years time it will probably be unrecognisable from what it is now. For the first time in a while D+G is at the forefront of the things nationally - you artists were instrumental in getting us into this position....don't now reinforce all the stereotypes by going off in a huff and fighting among yourselves

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The Commonty was formed, and is run entirely, by working creative people - we have nobody’s remit or priorities except our own.

We are committed to the vision of Dumfries and Galloway as a region whose character is significantly shaped by the creative people and projects that are based here - we see a vital spark in the interconnections between our environment and culture, making this the place that we want to live, and a place that we are proud of.